Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $178.67.

DRI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Stephens assumed coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wedbush cut their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,994,800.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,994,800.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,599 shares of company stock valued at $2,197,891 in the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 131.3% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 65.1% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of DRI opened at $151.98 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39. Darden Restaurants has a 52-week low of $133.36 and a 52-week high of $176.84. The firm has a market cap of $18.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.82, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s fifty day moving average is $158.10 and its 200-day moving average is $160.50.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 49.94%. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. It operates under Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V's Prime Seafood, and Capital Burger brand names.